•SASHA•“Well done, Sasha. The jeweler had been pronounced dead by homicide. Reports say one of the delivery guys shot him and stole everything in his store. Though I’m not sure if that news might excite you after sucking his dick.”“Am I free now?” I questioned Mateo on the phone.I was back from seeing Lucius and signing the transfer papers of Airbyte when he called me.“You’re never free, sweetheart. You thought you could play a game with me, and now I’m putting all the cards on the table. Don’t pull out yet. We haven’t had the winner.”“If you want to tell Dario who and where I am, tell him, Mateo, because I won’t be your mule anymore. I can’t let you involve me in your murderers.”“Are you sure you want me to tell Dario where you are?”I froze and gulped. If Dario found me, I would be as good as dead, and he would make sure I paid for all the years he had been searching for me.“What if I gave you information in exchange for my freedom?”“What information?”“Your brother.” I took
•SANTINO•I parked my car outside a pawnshop, adjusting my cap to hide my face so that Vin’s son wouldn’t see me when he came out of the store.It was a good and stupid thing that he didn’t assign any bodyguards for his son when he recently sent us a threatening text.My pistol was ready in the backseat to get the job done.I didn’t mind how long he took inside the shop, and when he finally came out and got inside his car, which was parked across the street, I followed him.His car stopped outside a house, and I hopped out when the front door closed behind him.I took my gun and headed to the door, gently pressing my feet on the wooden floor so that they wouldn’t make a creaking noise.The door was slightly closed when I opened it and went inside. The house was enormous, and it was less likely that anyone would hear even the slightest sound.“Oh, Flint. You brought all this money for me?” A woman’s hoarse voice asked in the living room, and when I peeked through, Flint was sitting nex
•CAMILLA•I released a long sigh as I took off my shoes while on the phone with Lucius.“Do you know how illegal this is? Nico is my son and Santino’s. If you want to see him, as you state, you haven’t signed away your parental rights–which you never had. You must call him as well.”“His name is Nico?” he asked, and I exhaled.“Yes, but that’s not the point. He’s Santino’s child as well, and this is disrespectful to him to put a claim on the head of his child.”“I will call him and tell him I want my family back. I don’t want this to get to court or get ugly, so I would appreciate it if he got out of my way.”“It doesn’t work like that, Lucius.” I walked to my bedroom and sat on the couch. “You can’t expect everything to stop because you had an epiphany that you want your family back.”“I love you, Camilla, and I loved you before finding out you’re not Alisha. I had been trying to find you before you came back to New York. Do you think I would’ve let you go if I found out you were car
•LUCIUS•“Wait a minute,” Kyle chuckled. “Are you telling me you’re selling Airbyte to your ex-wife?”“No, I’m giving it to her freely.” I sipped my bourbon and smirked. “She wants the company, so she should have it.”Kyle chuckled. He was a friend and a business partner for the past five years. I usually went to see him when I wanted unhinged advice.He said whatever came into his mind, and I liked he didn’t pretend just so I would like him.I also needed to clear my mind and avoid going home for a few hours. They discharged my mother from the hospital, and I avoided a conversation about her collapse.Since it was technically my fault, I wanted to avoid her for some time.“There’s no way you’re giving Airbyte to the same woman who lied to you, faked her pregnancies, and blackmailed you.” He shook his head. “You must be joking, Lucius. You can’t give away your decade of hard work to her!”“Airbyte barely brings in any money, and it’s still registered in my father’s name. What will happ
•CECILIA•“Is something wrong?”I looked at Asher as he walked into my room and scoffed. “Close the bloody door.”“What’s wrong?” He asked, leaning toward me.I was pacing in my room, thinking of what to do with Casey after she had the guts to threaten me after squandering the money I had given her.“It’s Casey. I don’t know what to do with that girl. Can you believe she came to the house yesterday, threatening to tell Camilla everything if I don’t give her the money we agreed on when she impersonated Camilla?”“What did she say?”I rolled my eyes and sighed. There were things I didn’t want to tell Asher, and no matter how infatuated he was with me, it wouldn’t be appropriate to tell him I wanted all his father’s inheritance for myself.“She said she’ll tell Camilla that I wanted her to impersonate her because I want to get rid of her from the Ross companies.”“After everything you’ve done for her and her bedridden mother, she wants to betray you?” He scolded. “I should’ve known she w
•LUCIUS•“Are you sure the report is accurate?” I asked my financial advisor after he ran me through the financial status of Airbyte.“Yes, Mr. Hall, the report is accurate. Airbyte’s financial losses top fifty million dollars over the past quarter, and failure to retain current clients and attract new ones could result in twenty percent staff reductions before year’s end.”I leaned back in my chair in my office and exhaled. “Three accounts pulled out, and they were our major accounts. We are left with only minor accounts that barely generate any income.”“I think you need to sit with your marketing team and figure out a way to bring new clients. Maybe you should brainstorm new ideas and strategies to sign more accounts before the company makes less money than it spends on its expenses.”I looked at Keith and sighed. He was right, but I didn’t know how I would execute the plan he gave me.My mind was all over the place. I was thinking about Camilla and her child and how I was going to